This week, still no pictures.

Here I am skipping the last two hours of church because of the worst cold in a very long time. So instead of sleeping (which I really tried to do), I'm catching up here. You'll be happy to know that I'm recumbent, therefore I am indeed resting.

So lets start with the second first day of first grade! Yay Mermaid! She loves her teacher, loves her school, gets ready and brushes her hair everyday. And she can't wait until I let her get the hot lunch every once in awhile.

I did have to drop my classes because the person who reclassifies residency was out of the office last week. I get to stalk her tomorrow. I mean talk to her. Hopefully, I can be reclassified so I can keep taking my classes.

Which I am enjoying immensely. My kids are great. They let me do homework and read while they play. There is an end to each assignment. It's not like laundry or housecleaning which NEVER END. I didn't get kicked off the online blackboard, so I've been able to do all my assignments and keep up, so it shouldn't be a big deal if I can add them this week.

I bought a new vacuum. I know that for most people this is not blog worthy, but for me it begins a new era. Mermaid and I have really bad allergies here, and I can't help but think it might be the dust in our carpets. I found a little vacuum that's perfect for our little house. It's purple, the color of choice around here, and it sucked up so much junk from my mattress, I was more than a little disturbed. I will probably be a vacuuming fool for the next few weeks.

And last. WE LOVE OUR HOUSE! I know that it's small, there's no washing machine or dish washer, but the layout is amazing. The kitchen is pretty spacious, the bathroom (though it needs to be re-caulked) is quite nice, the kids play in their room because there is room, our room fits our needs (sleep), and there is so much light. When we clean the house, it looks clean. Can you tell how much I hated our house in Japan? One more thing, we got rid of so much stuff when we left, the house doesn't feel stuffed to the brim. I like it.

This Week Without Pictures

This past week has been EVENTFUL!!!

We drove in.
Got Mermaid registered for school.
Got me registered for school (though I may have to drop if I don't get residency).
Got the car halfway registered (still need a smog check).
Picked up Jesse from the airport.
Went to the first and only day of class (it's online. And I started getting nervous. Can I do this? There's a paper. Wait. Aren't I an English teacher? I've already graduated from college.) Went to the Jack Johnson concert in the GINORMOUS Verizon Ampitheater (where were you Jamie?? Oh. You were that teeny tiny speck in the front!) Got the first whiff of second hand smoke/toke in a LONG time (when was that Reel Big Fish concert?? 96?)
Had in-laws and cousin party ("hey Bekah. Where does this knife go?" I dunno. "Do you have scissors?" I dunno. By Sunday they realized I really had no idea where anything went, or if I actually owned said thing.)
Had a welcome home party with friends and family. SO FUN!! SO MUCH WORK!
4 weeks ago... Bekah: "I don't know if having a party two days after you fly in and with your brother and sister and their families at our house is a great idea."
Jesse: "Oh. It'll be fine."
It was FUN. But when you have no idea where anything is, it's a bit of a challenge.
Just got 17/20 on my first quiz (not that great considering it was open book, but I just have to get 14 to get full credit).

Monkey: "I don't want you to call me Monkey anymore. I'm Dragon!"

Home again, home again

Ah. The backyard. The old and new friends. Jesse sleeping on the couch.
WE'RE HOME!!!

I have a billion pictures and posts, including hanging curtains at Mimi's, visiting the the Smith's funny farm, and all the other fun we've had these last three weeks. And more... family is coming tomorrow. Now, I just need to get my computer set up.

Tonbo Massacre

Or driving to Sacramento. Every time a dragonfly hit the windshield I flinched because they were HUGE! It must be mating season because an hour out of Sac they were everywhere.

The 6.5 hour drive took 8.5 because I drove by myself with kids. "I have to go to the bathroom! I'm hungry!"

And tomorrow we do it again. YAY!

Jam Stats

24 jars of jam (1/2 pints, pints, and quarts)
6 jars of blackberry pie filling (5 quarts, 1 pint)
And my mom babysitting so I could do it all.
Yay!!

15 pounds of blackberries?

Make blobbler of course. That's cobbler in Monkey-speak. My mom made one last night and we've been feasting on it all day today. Sorry there aren't any pictures, but that would mean hooking my camera up to a scary pc. It's just too intimidating.

It's been a weird summer here, with late cold spells, so the wild blackberries are just barely. Usually we pick wild berries and call that good, but this time we went to a field and picked. It was delightful! All the vines were thornless and loaded with berries, especially around three year old height. Usually the kids get one scratch and call it quits while I pick berries for the whole crew to munch. Monkey, Mermaid, Anonymous (my mom), and myself loaded our baskets in under an hour.

And as luck would have it, the weather cooled considerably, about 20 degrees cooler. So tomorrow starts the jam jamboree. My absolute favorite is canning pie filling. Around January, a blackberry blobbler or pie sounds just right. yum. Too bad we don't have time or room for peaches this year. Peach jam. Double yum. Maybe we can make one batch.

We also headed to Wildlife Safari. As kids, we thought every town had a drive through safari park and occasionally had cheetah escapes on the news. Who knew that Winston, Oregon had one of the best cheetah breeding facilities in the world? You do, now. So as adults, Pete and I oohed and aaahed at the giraffe just outside the car, the brown bears cavorting 20 feet away, and the ria trying to see if we'd bend the rules and give it a treat. Mermaid was whining for McDonald's. Monkey was playing angel to make up for Mermaid's bad behavior. And even my mom, most patient person on the earth, was getting irritated. A little food, a trip to the uber air conditioned library (it was 105 that day) and everyone smiled again.

Car Owners with Jam

Thanks to all that were concerned about us and our search for the car. We found it. It's the same car we had before, now in the station wagon version and in an appealing turquiose color. It was dirt cheap. So cheap that I'm thinking of getting a new radio with an mp3 hook up for it. Needs a tune up and oil change. But we have our trusty mechanic here in Roseburg to check it out before we take it on the road. And we got towing included on the insurance, so we're good to go. Just have to make sure we have the cell phone with us.

So now I can worry about more important things. Like Jam. Marionberry, blueberry, cherry, grape. Which do I make? Luckily, I don't think this decision will keep me up at night.

Tell me which one you'd like, and if I'm going to see you in the next two weeks (Sacramento and Irvine), I'll hand deliver a jar to you.